Dolly Parton Removes Herself From Award Consideration With Shocking Public Statement
She has the nicest way to say no thank you.
This article is more than 2 years old
Is there someone alive with as much integrity as Dolly Parton? It’s possible, maybe, but if so they’re not in a position where they have to provide receipts with public statements. The iconic singer-songwriter was just nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and in response Parton is bowing out of the running. Is she doing it to make a political statement? No. Because she doesn’t have any room in her place for new trophies? No. Because she’s shy? Nope. After recording music professionally for over half a century, Parton is asking to be taken out of consideration because she doesn’t feel she’s earned it.
Dolly Parton posted her friendly and humble response to her nomination on Twitter on Monday. In spite of saying she was “grateful and flattered” for the nomination, Parton says she doesn’t feel she’s earned it. “I really do not want votes to be split because of me,” Parton explained, “so I must respectfully bow out.” You can see her tweet below.
Dolly Parton goes on to say the experience has inspired her to get to work on a rock & roll album, adding that’s always been on her mental to-do list. She mentions her husband Carl Dean, who she calls a “rock ‘n’ roll freak,” and asks to one day be considered again “if” she’s “ever worthy.”
On a platform defined by disagreement, no one can find a way to disagree about Dolly Parton. Declining to be considered for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of fame (yet!) is just one more piece of indisputable evidence that Parton is the absolute GOAT of the universe and even on twitter no one seems able to make a counterpoint.
While everyone seems to agree this decision was 100% class on the part of Dolly Parton, plenty of fans also think she’s deserving of the award she just passed on. Some fans even mentioned other awards they would happily nominate her for. She’s got our vote, pretty much regardless.
Judging by her public statement, Dolly Parton believes she isn’t “worthy” of her Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination because she hasn’t produced enough music that would technically be considered part of the rock genre. But if we’re judging purely by those standards, she’s hardly the only 2022 nominee who doesn’t qualify. This year’s nominations were announced in the beginning of February and include hip-hop artists Eminem and A Tribe Called Quest, R&B singer-songwriter Lionel Richie, pop singers Carly Simon and Dionne Warwick, and Afrobeat innovator Fela Kuti. The remaining nominees are Beck, Rage Against The Machine, DEVO, MC5, The New York Dolls, Eurythmics, Judas Priest, Kate Bush, Pat Benatar, and Duran Duran.
Dolly Parton isn’t the first artist to tell the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame “no thank you,” but her reasons seem the most humble and her approach the most polite. As chronicled by Far Out, artists like the Sex Pistols, Paul McCartney, Axl Rose, Neil Young, and Grace Slick have refused to be a part of the nominations and/or the ceremony from reasons ranging from financial disputes with old bandmates to advanced age. When Slick declined to show up with her old Jefferson Airplane bandmates, she said, “I’m not comfortable being an old person on stage… Rock is like sports. You have a certain run, then get out.”
